Publications by authors named "Wouter Lengkeek"

Globally, peatlands have been affected by drainage and peat extraction, with adverse effects on their functioning and services. To restore peat-forming vegetation, drained bogs are being rewetted on a large scale. Although this practice results in higher groundwater levels, unfortunately it often creates deep lakes in parts where peat was extracted to greater depths than the surroundings.

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In degraded landscapes, recolonization by pioneer vegetation is often halted by the presence of persistent environmental stress. When natural expansion does occur, it is commonly due to the momentary alleviation of a key environmental variable previously limiting new growth. Thus, studying the circumstances in which expansion occurs can inspire new restoration techniques, wherein vegetation establishment is provoked by emulating natural events through artificial means.

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Restoration is becoming a vital tool to counteract coastal ecosystem degradation. Modifying transplant designs of habitat-forming organisms from dispersed to clumped can amplify coastal restoration yields as it generates self-facilitation from emergent traits, i.e.

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Background And Aims: The growth rate of pioneer species is known to be a critical component determining recruitment success of marsh seedlings on tidal flats. By accelerating growth, recruits can reach a larger size at an earlier date, which reduces the length of the disturbance-free window required for successful establishment. Therefore, the pursuit of natural mechanisms that accelerate growth rates at a local scale may lead to a better understanding of the circumstances under which new establishment occurs, and may suggest new insights with which to perform restoration.

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